THE LABOR CHARTER.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 August 1919, Page 5

THE LABOR CHARTER.

UNACCEPTABLE TO UNIONISTS. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. Amsterdam, August 4. The Trades' Uni|on Congress Committee reported that it was unable to accept the Labor Charter in the Peace Treaty as a full expression of the demands of the working classes . Mr, Gompers declared that he would strive for the improvement of the charter and demanded that Labor should not be regarded as an article of commerce, He urged the equality of women and men. The German delegates urged the application of the programme of the Berne International Conference, including the regulation concerning women's labor and shorter hours . / The French representatives supported this and declared that the workers must complete the Labor Charter.~Atu.-NX Cable Assn.

A PAR-REACHING SUBJECT. SIR JOSEPH WARD'S COMMENTS? Auckland, Aug. 9. "One of the far-reaching and important subjects dealt with by the Peace Conference," said Sir Joseph Ward, "is contained in the 'Labor Charter which is attached to the Peace Covenant, and is intended to deal with Labor problems. The charter affirms a' great principle, bnt its practicability must remain more than in doubt until ali the great countries are included in it. Two of the great Powers—the United States and Japan—have not subscribed to it. It certainly was disappointing to me that the great protagonist who represented America found it necessary, for internal political reasons, to have the United States excluded from the proposals of the Labor Charter. In the case of Japan, her acquiescence is postponed for a' period of five years. Obviously if the countries which have given their adhesion to it were to enact by local legislation similar rates of pay and hours of labor in various industries, they wou]d be in the position of having to compete with all the other great countries free of any such responsibility, and the structure, the 'foundation of which was laid at Paris, would ha unstable in its real effect: Nevertheless, it is a great move forward that a commencement has been made. "The idea is a fine one," commented Sir Joseph, "and I should dearlv like;to see it generally adopted and fin-, ally carried into effective operation. After all, it is a task of great magnitude and ,much perplexity to tackle a world-wide problem affecting p.o many different races with different local conditions, and if a universal patera vcre evolved in a period of five or even ten years, it would be next door to a miracle. The opinion I form is that each part of the British Empire, as well as each of the great countries that were represented at the Peace Conference, will require to work out its own problem, as effecting labor, wi+liin its own bounds and through its own legislatures."